Friday 8 March 2013

Teasing about Teeth

Dearest Emily,

Now you have all your first teeth, ( I don't want to worry you about this- it's quite normal! ) in a few years, new bigger teeth will grow to replace them. In the mean-time, you may be left for a while without a couple- as your Grand-mother was aged six. Names like 'Gappy' may be given to you by your parents, and a thtrange kind of liwthp may take over your previously well handled speech manner.
If you are like GiGi, your favourite doll will forever be known as 'Libaluft' instead of her carefully chosen 'Elisabeth' and things may become a bit annoying for a while.
Don't worry, with new nashers in place, life will soon return to normal, and you may next go through a phase of shutting your eyes and thinking no-one can see you. It's a nice thought Emily, and sometimes even now I wish it were true ( like for example the other day at a board meeting when I carefully pressed the lid of a cafetiere down to serve everyone coffee, and it spilt all over the chairmans new book and all his papers! ) But it isn't my darling girl- they can still see you, and I might as well heads you up on this one...

Anyway, back to teeth. Alice our heroine, was at around the tooth losing age,  when our Dodgson would accompany her, her siblings and Miss Prickett the governess to the little 'Sweet Shop' just over the road from the Deanery.

It is still there, and here is a picture of it, from 1950.

It is well-known that this was the original inspiration for the 'Sheep-Shop' in 'Through the Looking Glass', and its not a great leap of faith to imagine little Alifsth, with her front teeth mitthing, coming in for thome thtick for calling it the Theep Thop!

I think we should go there together one day, what say you Emily?


Your ever-loving Grandmother, GiGi xxxx



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